Friday,
30
“There’s a truck!” yelled Ana, almost dropping the porcelain cup she was washing. She moved away from the sink and wiped her hands on her skirt, shouting out, “Nick!”
He ran
into the living area and almost bumped into her in the process. “Where?”
“There! It’s going down the road
, past us.”
Marla and Leah ran into the room, and then it seemed that everyone
else filled the corridor. Doug picked up his rucksack and called out, “I’m ready.”
“Me too,” Leah agreed.
“Are you both sure about this?” asked Marla. “I don’t want you risking yourselves. I wish I could go…”
Leah
put her finger to her lips before hugging her. “Please don’t worry. I agree with you; we need to get those people out of there. It’s the right thing to do, and I think it looks more believable if Doug and I act like we’re a couple.”
At that moment one of the bedroom doors opened and Freya stepped out, looking red-faced and tearful. “Please be careful,” she almost whispered. “I
want to see you two back safe.”
Leah gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Freya. Just take care of yourself and
the kids, and I’ll see you in no time.”
Freya smiled and walked back into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
“Come on,” urged Nick. “I saw three trucks and a bus heading into the red zone where I found you, Marla. We need to meet them somehow without being seen.” He opened the hatch door and made his way down the spiral staircase, followed by Doug and Leah.
“See you, guys!” Doug yelled back.
“At least let me come with you now,” pleaded Marla. “I feel bad enough. Let me come, because if anything happens to any of you out there, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Nick looked at her and smiled. “Get your gun.”
“Have it,” she said, waving it in the air.
“Come on then, girl,” he replied with a smirk.
Sid pulled up the metal shutters and unbolted the exit. After saying their goodbyes, Nick headed outside, followed by Marla, Doug and Leah. As soon as they were out, Sid secured it again.
“Let’s move quickly
and keep your senses sharp,” Nick instructed. “We’re not taking any chances, so if we don’t manage this today there will be other days.”
“Thanks again,” said Marla.
“No worries.”
Nick moved ahead of everyone
to lead the way between some houses and on to James Road. In the distance they could hear the trucks moving. “They’re heading up London Road – the main throughway,” said Doug.
“Safest route,” Nick replied. “Predictable. Let’s
go this way and take the alley around the back. That way they won’t see us and we can catch them up.”
The four of them
ran up Holders Road and ducked down the narrow walkway behind the warehouses. Marla checked for dead-lookers all the way. When the alley ended, Nick continued straight, passing a signpost for The Drove.
“Sounds like they’re carrying on down London Road,” said Leah. “Maybe they’re heading for St M
ary’s church?”
“They went there before,” Marla pointed out. “I was with them.”
“How about Smiley Face Nursery or the police station?” suggested Leah.
“Or maybe one of the schools?” Doug added. “There could be survivors in any of those places.”
“Do you ever see people here?” asked Marla.
“Rarely,” said Leah as they hurried along. “Just dead ones.
We used to see more people and some joined with us. We lost some though. I reckon the living are hiding and not going out, like us.”
The road continued into Cold Harbour and the group hastened along it. “Stop!” urged Nick and everyone
obeyed him. “They’re turning, listen. Step back.”
As they followed his instruction, Marla saw the familiar Land Rover, double-decker bus and
Vector pass by the end of the road. “That’s them,” she said, “but normally there’s an extra vehicle.”
“Okay,” Nick answered, “I’m guessing one of the schools is their target. There are two of them pretty close together.”
“We can go ahead,” offered Leah.
Nick shook his head. “No way, it’s t
oo risky. We’re covering you and that’s the end of it. They’ve gone down Earls Court Road, so let’s hurry.” He led the way to the end of the road and halted, just in time to see the back end of the Vector. “Right, looks like they’re going to Stonehenge School on Antrobus Road. It’s a straight walk up there. I’m not sure about letting you go alone, but if we come there’s a chance of us being seen…”
“We’ll be fine,” said Doug with a grin. “Let us go. And here’s the radio,” he added, handing his handset to Nick. “Too risky to use it anyway in case they are listening in.”
Nick took it reluctantly and sighed. “Good luck, you two, and please be careful. You know the plan, so don’t do anything crazy and veer off it. Sunday, the twenty-second of September is the day. We’ll be waiting at the meeting point. If anything goes wrong, you’ll need to join the patrol and come back to us that way, and we’ll have to think of something else. I don’t want you two stuck in that damn place. Alright?”
“You can trust us,” Leah responded, giving him a hug and offering Marla a smile.
He sighed again. “I know that, but I’ve grown fond of you all, as if you’re my kids.”
“Well, okay, Dad,”
Doug joked with a wink. He hugged the older man and then Marla. “We’ll be off then…”
“Just stick to the plan and if things hot up, you know what to do. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Doug and Leah responded in unison. “Don’t worry, Nick,” she added before they headed off down the street. After a few strides they looked back and waved.
Nick and Marla waved back. “This worries me,” Nick admitted, scratching his head.
“Me too. I’ll blame myself if anything goes wrong.”
“Come on. Let’s get back. I hate waiting and something tells me we’re going to have a bit of one.”
***
Doug and Leah walked swiftly into Antrobus Road and turned left
, where the school came into view, constructed on two levels of red brick with a white-painted entrance. A double-decker bus sat in front of it, alongside a Land Rover. Another truck was parked closer to Doug and Leah, and as they approached it, a man stepped out dressed in army fatigues. He raised his arm and said simply, “Stop!”
Leah
immediately launched into her rehearsed speech: “Can you help us? We saw your trucks go past, grabbed our things and followed…”
“Where are you from?” asked the man.
“Here. Well, I’m not originally. We travelled up this way. We were living in a house on Cold Harbour behind the school here. It isn’t safe…”
“
Town is full of zombies,” Doug added.
“Do you have any bites?” asked the
soldier. “If you have, you must tell me or you’ll place everyone at risk.”
As he spoke, a woman with blonde hair stepped
off the bus and made her way towards them. “Hi, I’m Syl,” she said in a friendly manner. “Don’t mind Elliott. Are you two okay?”
“Yes,” Leah answered, “but we’ve been lucky.”
“We’re checking the school for survivors – do you know if there is anyone inside and where they might be, to save us time?”
Doug shook his head. “I’ve no idea.”
“Sorry,” said Leah. “We tended to stay inside a lot, only coming out for supplies.”
Sylvia smiled. “I understand.
”
“You
said you’re looking for people. Where are you taking them if you find any?” Leah asked.
Elliott spoke up. “We’re from a government facility. It’s safe. There’s protection and food, and everything you need.”
“Can you take us?” asked Doug.
“Of course,”
answered Sylvia, glancing at Elliott who added, “You have to go into quarantine for a week though.”
“We don’t have any bites,” said Leah, hiding her surprise
. Marla had forgotten to mention quarantine. It meant they had less time to plan everything.
“It’s the rules,” Elliott insisted. “
Prevents a refugee centre being overrun if someone turns.”
“Makes sense,” Doug
agreed. “We’re up for it. I’m tired of running and hiding. It was our lucky day hearing your trucks.”
“
Please get on the bus,” said Sylvia, “because sometimes we have to leave in a hurry. You never know what might happen.”
“They tend to
come out in big groups later in the day here,” said Doug. “Now it’s never that bad, unless there’s a lot of noise to bring them out.”
Sylvia nodded as she led
the way to the bus. When she reached it, another soldier opened the door, and Doug and Leah got on. “Make yourself at home. Pick any seat – it’s empty,” he said, looking bored. Sitting down, Leah looked out the window and watched Sylvia make her way confidently towards the school. The woman sure is ballsy, she thought to herself, remembering that Marla considered her trustable, along with Martinez and the people who had accompanied her to Haven. She smirked at the irony of the name.
Week 17
Friday, 6 September
“If you could bring your things, I’ll show you to your room on level seven,” said the female soldier. “How was quarantine?”
“Well, it wasn’t as exciting as I hoped,” Doug answered. Picking up his rucksack, he slung it over his shoulder before collecting his notebook and pen from the bed.
“Right, I vaguely remember that every day seemed like a week,” she replied, locking the door behind him. “My name is Charlotte,” she added with a slight smile.
“I’m Doug, as you probably know.” He raised his book and an eyebrow.
“I write, so it wasn’t too boring for me.”
“That’s good. It’s good
to have a hobby, to be honest. You’re basically stuck in here most of the day, although you can go out into the grounds of the facility, but that’s about it. If you venture further, it’s at your own risk,” she explained as the doors of the lift opened. They walked inside and she pressed the appropriate button.
“Been here long?” asked Doug, feeling his guard go up
at just speaking to one of the soldiers.
“Yes, pretty much from the beginning, but I remember quarantine. I read a who
le lot of books. Here, we are: level seven. This is your key and your room number is sixteen. I hope you enjoy your stay. You’ll find an information book in your room, and you’ll be scheduled to see the therapist and the administrator. That’s regulation.”
Oh, boy, thought Doug, as he took the key.
A ruddy therapist, whoopee!
“Thank you kindly,” he told Charlotte as the doors of the lift closed on her.
Walking away, he
considered how she had spoken to him as if he’d come to stay for a week in a hotel she worked at.
I hope you have an enjoyable stay.
The words made him bristle and he wondered how Leah was doing. Luckily, writer’s block had not paid him a visit during the entire week and he’d made fine headway with the story he was working on. Smiling to himself, he unlocked the door of room sixteen and walked inside. Dumping his bag on the floor, he sat down on the surprisingly firm mattress and picked up the booklet on Haven that rested on the cover. If only it came with a blueprint of the building.
That would have been mighty useful.
A
loud knock made him almost drop it. Getting up, Doug reached the door in a couple of strides and opened it. Leah’s cheerful face greeted him. “Am I glad to see someone I recognise,” she announced. “I feel like a bird cooped up in a cage.”
Doug grinned back. “So, where do you wanna fly?”
“Barbados maybe or Florida, and I wouldn’t turn my nose up at Hawaii either. I’m not fussy, me.”
“Ah, you’re so easy,” joked Doug. “Come in.”
“Cheers,” she said, walking inside, “and less of the easy!”
“Ah, you make me miss my wife,” he replied, closing the door, “because she was forever teasing me
like that.”
“Sorry.”
“No worries, Leah. You remind me of her in a good way. At least I know she’s safe. She’s better off being in North Carolina than here. I just wish to God I’d never said yes to coming over here for that convention. But, you know what they say about hindsight.”
“Yeah, it’s a bitch!”
Leah sat down on the chair beside Doug’s desk while he perched himself on the bed. “We have to see a therapist and ‘The Administrator’, which made me think of some shoot-em-up Hollywood blockbuster dude,” he said. “Sounds a bundle of laughs.”
She grinned an
d nodded. “Yeah, but maybe we could head down to the nearest canteen and grab a coffee; get a feel for the place. This place is huge.” Lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, “I keep thinking everywhere might be bugged.”
Doug’s expression changed and he frowned. “Let’s go.”
Inside the cafeteria, they chose a table right in the centre in the busiest section of the room where it was noisy. Doug stirred his coffee. “They seem to have everything here that people need – clean rooms, water, food, cafeterias, gyms and even a cinema…”
Leah put her mug down and raised her eyebrow. “Yeah, everything except freedom. I get the impression
you can’t just walk out and there’s no internet access – no contact with the outside world.”
“The guard who brought me out of quarantine said people can leave, but it’s at their own risk.”
Leah shook her head and leant forward. “I bet you any money that you can’t. I have this feeling. I’m wondering how we are going to leave this place.”
“Just walk out,” said Doug. “Easy.”
“I’m not so sure.” Leah took a bite of her chocolate bar and surveyed the room. “The people here look happy and relieved.”
“Yeah, but w
hy shouldn’t they? Probably glad to be safe. If I didn’t know what we know, I’d probably be grinning like it was my birthday too.”
Leah nodded. “M
mm, me, too. Anyway, ignore me. When do you want to talk to this Tommy?”
“Soon as,” Doug replied. “I could speak to him and you to
Marla’s sister.”
“I was thinking vice versa,” said Leah. “I could make it look like I was flirting with the guy. There’s less chance of suspicion, in case they are keeping a close eye on him.”
“Well, maybe I could flirt better…”
Leah almost spat out her coffee. “I wondered what I
’d missed about you!”
“Yeah, I bet my wife is thinking the same thing…” Doug smirked and drank his coffee.
“So I guess we just need to find out what he and she look like. It’s a shame Marla didn’t have any photos.”
“He has a dog, so that’s a b
ig clue. A Labrador, she said, and the only dog here, apart from the soldiers’ dogs.”
Leah smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Great, I forgot about that. See, I said I missed you!”